Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-04-07
THE zoo IN WINTER.
CARE OF THE CENTRAL PARK
MENAeERIE IN COLD WEATHER.

Lions anu hAttE AVaA-A-ANP N9b
Animals" and Monkeys.
Superintendent Conklin, when asked
how he managed his numerous family Of
Is and beasts in winter, said: "By
conforming as far as possible with their
various conditions when in a state Of
nature, with such notifications as are
compelled by the restraints of captivity.
Some animals, the American bison for in
stance, we winter in o shed open on all
sides to the wind, and only covered to
keep off the rain and snow. This hardy
animal would not thrive if kept in q warm
stable. The bears all have to be kept in
cages open to- the wind, but with close
compartments for shelter, to which they
can retire when they see fit. Yet, strange
as it may seem, we have no animals that
are more likely to take cold and perish
with lung diseases than the bears, if they
are kept in warm room and subjected to
occasional draughts that may not seem
particularly strong. The deer do best
when not allowed to have any artificial
heat. A comfortable shelter is provided
for them, to which they may retire when
20 disposed, but many Of them prefer,
even in very inclement weather, sleeping
on the BrOunu III Cne open ar
"The foxes, wolves and raccoons are
provided for in the same manner as the
bears, by means of open cages, to give
them all the exposure they need, and at
tached shelters in which they may take
refuge from excessive cold. The prairie
dogs take care Of themselves. There are
about fifty members of their little colony.
To make place for them we excavated
the ground and laid heavy stone floor
and stone walls, making q sort of cellar,
in triangular form, thirty feet wide at the
base and about, 100 feet long, into which
we subsequently, filed the earth up to its
natural level. Into that space we turned
the prairie dogs to make their own houses,
and they have done SO apparently to their
entire satisfaction. They have burrowed
in all directions, and are only restrained
by the stone walls and floor from extend
ing their subterranean village indefinitely.
In the autumn they began laying up their
winter stores. They have dragged down
at least bale Of hay and great quantity
of corn into their burrows, making them
selves quite independent of us until
spring. In pleasant weather, all through
the winter, they come out and appear to
take an interest in what is going on, but
on cold days not one of them pokes his
nose above ground 1t is popular error,
by the way, that the prairie dog does not
drink water"
eyes" Mr.. Thompson Clipped into the
conversation, "and good many persons
have the mistaken idea that parrots do
not want water and are likely to die IL
they drink any. They forget-if they ever
knew-that the presence of parrots is an
unfailing indication of the neighborhood
of water in Africa The error arises from
the fact that those birds are generally
brought here by sailors who do not take
the trouble to give them any water. The
birds manage to live, but undoubtedly
suffer tortures from thirst, for when they
land here and get at water they are very
apt to drink so greedily that it kills
them"
Everything that lives, even Ken
tucky colonel, drinks water some times"
remarked Superintendent Conklin, who
continued "An that the sea lions ask is
to be let alone, beyond the giving to
them Of their daily supply of fish. They
play about in the water all the winter
through. In exceedingly cold weather,
when the temperature of the air is consid-
erably below that of the water, they stay in
the water all the time, only poking their
noses out occasionally for breath. They
have no use for any other shelter. Ice is
prevented from forming on their pond by
their constant motion in the water.
'The swans, geese and ducks scorn
even such shelter as the pelicans have
They do best in the open dir oil the time.
We have fenced off for them part of the
upper lake, and there they swim around
enough to keep the ice from forming
on part of the water. Many of them,
by choice, sleep on the ice, and in exces-
sively cold weather the down of the swans
Is frequently frozen fast to it, so that we
have to chop it away with hatchets to
Gberate them. They could just as well
sleep on the dry bank, but doubtless an
inherited instinct of self preservation from
the attacks of prowling nocturnal animals
leads them to prefer the ice, away out
from the shore, as resting place The
swans have way of drawing their feet
up inside their thick down so that they do
not touch the ice and are never frozen,
even when the down under them is frozen
into the ice. All the geese and swans are
wonderfully tough, not in the sense of
toughness that might commend them for
boarding house, but in the matter of ell
durance. Even the south African geese
and the Australian black swans, though
from very hot climates, seem to stand the
cold as well as the others.
"The antelopes, Persian sheep and two
remaining out of the great Barnum herd
of forty-four elephants are housed in o
building where stoves maintain q tempera
ture Of about 90 degs. The main thing inl
caring for them is to protect them fromI
draughts. Elephants are liable to attacksI
of pneumonia. 1t must be something ter
rible for them. The idea of 200 pounds oil
congcsted lung is horrible to contemplate.
And they get rheumatism, too, and die OIL
1t, as one did only couple of weeks agoI
in the Philadelphia Geological garden.
No; l can't tell you whether they gave
him tubfuls of wine of colchicum and hun
dred weights of salySilic acid, and applied
acres of mustard plastegs and barrels of
iniment externally, ar'1 connected him
with some dynamos, OF cot.
"All the cat animals tigers. lions,
leopards, etc, and the rhinoceros and hip
popotamus are kept in close house heatedI
by steam pipes to temperature of not|
less than 80 degs., nor over 65. In theI
hrsC week Of January we will build newl
cage, much more roomy than that which
he now occupies, for the rhinoceros, and
III Hlat when we get a few hundred
pounds more of flesh on him, he will show
Off well.
'The camels and cattle we simply putI
into a close house, where the warmth